


Quiet Love

by ticktockclockwork



Series: Secondary Noise [1]
Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Fluff, Hard of Hearing Bitty, Hearing Jack, M/M, Mentions of ADD, Mentions of Anxiety
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-29
Updated: 2017-08-29
Packaged: 2018-12-21 07:20:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,030
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11939124
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ticktockclockwork/pseuds/ticktockclockwork
Summary: Jack comes home to Bitty, and that's all he really needs.





	Quiet Love

**Author's Note:**

  * For [](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts).



> So because I am endlessly inspired by the nuanced and diverse aus @angryspaceravenclaw comes up with, I couldn’t stop myself from writing a little drabble too. This one features HoH Bitty, and hearing Jack. I hope you don’t mind, sweetheart, that I’m jumping into the wagon a bit here, but your stories are just too lovely to not be inspired.
> 
> As always, if I messed anything up, please let me know!

The apartment was dim when Jack got home. It was not an entirely rare occurrence, especially when Bitty was back at Samwell or Jack was just getting home from a roadie. On those nights, Jack will come home to darkness, or perhaps the warm glow from the light above his oven, if he remembered to turn it on before leaving.

But this week Bitty has come to stay. It's nearly the start of Bitty’s holiday break and Jack has been excited to have him home, to share their holidays. The break doesn't technically start for another few days but Bitty’s exams were take home so he packed his bags and came early with the promise that he would study more than bake.

Jack didn't expect him to  _ actually _ adhere to that promise but it was the thought that counted. Which is probably why he's surprised to  _ not _ hear Bitty making a show around his kitchen. The past few nights he's come back from practice or a game to find Bitty blaring his music a bit too loud from his frankly obscene sound system (“I like the feel of the music, Jack. I can feel Bey in my chest if I get close enough.”) or dancing around while Dottie hid petulantly in her cat tree.

Tonight, though, it's quite the opposite. There's no sound playing through the apartment and Jack can see both Bitty's headphones and his hearing aids dropped on the kitchen counter. Most of the lights have been lowered and Jack can see that Bitty has covered up the digital faces of the appliances around his house with opaque pieces of paper. The clock on the microwave, his cable box, even the internet modem all blocked.

The only lights that were turned on were the few lamps around the room and the light over the kitchen table illuminating Bitty who was, shockingly enough, studying hard. The table was covered in different textbooks and piles of paper, Dottie sprawling herself across a few discarded texts while Bitty himself worked through what looked to be the practice exams he’d been given for his intro business class. Bitty's back was to him so he knew he wouldn't see Jack come in but Dot alerted to his movement even if she couldn't hear him either.

That was part of the reason Bitty had gotten her, to have another set of eyes around when he was home alone. The other part was to help his anxiety when his ADD was at it's worse. Right now, Bitty seemed hyper focused so Dot was staying close, lazily flipping her tail as she dozed on his homework, but when Jack came in, she murred and looked up. Jack saw the lift in Bitty's head which meant he saw her but he did little more than glance over his shoulder to make sure it wasn't a stranger before he went back to his studies. Jack was fine with that, not wanting to interrupt his focus while he had it. He'd seen it turned on worse things than his finals so he was happy to leave him be.

Dot abandoned her post to drop down and weave between his legs so Jack picked her up to give her the attention she wanted. He nuzzled her face and hummed against it which caused her to immediately start purring at the vibration. When he went to get her dinner ready she pawed to be let down and he obliged, returning to opening her can of food with both hands free now.

He continued to keep an eye on Bitty while he made dinner, taking his time with putting the baked potatoes in the over and prepping the steaks he'd grill out on their balcony (“In this weather Jack? That's just foolish!”). By the time he had the meat on the grill, about an hour later, Bitty was packing up his materials, exhaustion on his shoulder but satisfaction in his eyes. He turned to look at Jack and his expression grew fonder.

'Hello sunshine.’ Jack signed as he closed the sliding door behind him to keep the chill out. 'Get some work done?’

Bitty flumped down onto the couch in a languishing sprawl, legs and arms all over. He nodded though and then reached for Jack. Jack happily crawled up onto the couch, fitting Bitty across his lap so he could still see his hands. 'Yeah, a lot. Sorry about all the cards, the lights were distracting with all their flickering.’ He replied with a dismissive wave at the worst offender, the internet modem.

Jack chuckled and nodded, kissing his temple. 'It’s no problem. Are you hungry, steaks should be ready soon.”

'Starved. Let me grab the apple pie from the freezer to start heating up.’ he got up and headed towards the kitchen, stopping to rest a hand over his hearing aids. He looked back to Jack with a question in his brows. 'Do you need me to wear these tonight? I took them out to concentrate but I can put them back in.’

Sometimes Jack needed conversation to ground himself, needed to hear Bitty's voice and his own to feel attached to his body again, but tonight he was fine so he shook his head. 'No, just need you. Thank you though.’ Bitty beamed and Jack felt himself flush as if it were his first time under such a smile. They'd been together years now and the man in the kitchen still made his heart race.

It was a rarity, to have this domesticity afforded to them. Their schedules were busy and rarely aligned. Sometimes they struggled to find each other's wavelengths either because of Jack’s anxiety or Bitty's ADD. Sometimes they struggled just to talk to each other when Bitty was tired of having to hear  _ so much _ and Jack was struggling with so little.

But tonight they were happy. They ate, and they were full, and when Jack tugged Bitty to bed, there was no resistance. They were happy, with the lights covered, with the smell of butter and apples still in the air. They were happy as things were, in their small home, with their quiet love.

**Author's Note:**

> Come find me on Tumblr @ [ticktockclockwork](https://www.ticktockclockwork.tumblr.com)


End file.
